28 replies to this topic

[HerrHiller]

a few of you got me curious. where can it be obtained? and how expensive is it?

[EWW]

Since people started using sodium hydroxide (caustic) in the production of meth it has become harder to find. Some hardware stores still have it, but you'll more then likely have to go to a place that sells soap makng supplies. You should be able to find it for around $3/lb. If need be you can order it online but shipping can be costly.

[Sidney Porter]

It is commonly called lye. Scientific names can be sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. I get mine a a soap store as crystals, but you can by liquid at any grocery / hardware store it is drain cleaner ie drano. If you go the drain cleaner read the active ingredient it should be one of the hydroxides it will also have other ingredients to make it a thick liquid (they don't want it watery to get past the clog). If you go the drano route make sure it has the active ingredient the also make "safe" version that have other active ingredients.It is an strong alkaline cleaner so the opposite of an acid based cleaner. You can make it out of wood ash, do a search, no idea why you would want to make it yourself.When you use it be careful I wear rubber gloves and eye protection.

[Mynameisluka]

some people use it in their pools, so a pool supply store may have it.

[HerrHiller]

It is commonly called lye. Scientific names can be sodium hydroxide or potassium hydroxide. I get mine a a soap store as crystals, but you can by liquid at any grocery / hardware store it is drain cleaner ie drano. If you go the drain cleaner read the active ingredient it should be one of the hydroxides it will also have other ingredients to make it a thick liquid (they don't want it watery to get past the clog). If you go the drano route make sure it has the active ingredient the also make "safe" version that have other active ingredients.It is an strong alkaline cleaner so the opposite of an acid based cleaner. You can make it out of wood ash, do a search, no idea why you would want to make it yourself.When you use it be careful I wear rubber gloves and eye protection.

ok.. so if i used this draino.. what kind of solution what i want to make? I assume draino and water?? what ratio would i be looking at for safety vs effectiveness???I figure I could let it soak for an hour or 2, then I'd hook up a vinyl hose to my ball valves that go directly to my floor drain, this way I'm not getting the caustic solution all over my basement floor, then i figured id fill it up a couple more times and drain to make sure it has a good rinse. this sound like a good plan?

[EWW]

I personally would not use draino. It has some other gunk in there.

[Mynameisluka]

yeah, i would stay away from drano as well. find some pure form of sodium hydroxide.

[HerrHiller]

yeah, i would stay away from drano as well. find some pure form of sodium hydroxide.

Ok. well if I find some, what kind of ratio should I use how many parts sodium hydroxide to how many parts water? does that soaking and draining plan sound good? or does it sound like I am over-worrying about this chemical?

[EWW]

Mix a 3-5% solution with a PH >12

[Mynameisluka]

Ok. well if I find some, what kind of ratio should I use how many parts sodium hydroxide to how many parts water? does that soaking and draining plan sound good? or does it sound like I am over-worrying about this chemical?

you're definitely not over-worrying about it...make sure you keep it off of you, wear some sort of eye protection, and rinse anything thoroughly that comes into contact with it. if i'm not mistaken, it is the strongest base known.i think a 3-5 oz per gallon of water solution will do the trick. just buy some lye...it should have directions on it.lye = caustic = caustic soda = sodium hydroxide. it's all the same thing.

Edited by chris, 11 October 2010 - 02:13 PM.

[Sidney Porter]

I personally would not use draino. It has some other gunk in there.

Ingredients from MSDS/LabelChemical CAS No / Unique ID PercentSodium hydroxide 001310-73-2 <2.0Sodium hypochlorite 007681-52-9 <10Water 007732-18-5 85-95

[EWW]

MSDS only show the active ingredients ... My concerns are re: the innert ingredients

[EWW]

Water is not active. Also, on the SC Johnson MSDS site, they list Sodium Silicate in there as well. Sodium Silicate is inactive.

I thought draino was blueish - what makes it blue? That's not on the MSDS sheet

[tag]

Definitely protect your eyes.

[CaptRon]

Did you try the Oxy-Stuff and BKF? Both are very affordable and very effective in my experience and others here.I would try that before messing around with shit that you need rubber gloves and eye goggles.

[klickcue]

Important SAFETY NOTE:Add ACIDs and CAUSTICs to water. Do it the other way around and it may come up into your face and it will HOT!

[Sidney Porter]

I thought draino was blueish - what makes it blue? That's not on the MSDS sheet

I don't know I buy lye in crystals.I remeber drano being a thicker than water liquid so it coats to the clog don't know what that would be. I pointed out the drano option in part to show that he has probably worked with in in the past.

[gnef]

I bought my lye crystals at Ace Hardware. I don't remember the price, but I don't think it was that expensive. I haven't had to use it yet, but to echo others, you need to be careful with the stuff: goggles and gloves are mandatory. It is a great cleaner, just respect it, and it will work well for you.I would also recommend an acid rinse of some sort after you are finished cleaning. I think star san should suffice if you have that around.

[AiredAle]

For what it's worth, I am a chemist, and familiar with handling hazardous materials. Sodium hydroxide/lye etc is one of the worst of the commonly used chemicals. It is the strongest commonly avialable base, it exotherms (heats up) when dissolved in water, it will give you a nasty burn, if you are unfortunate enough to get it on your skin, or worse in you eyes. Then it is very hard to rinse off of skin/out of eyes.I would recommend against using it. I won't use it in beermaking due to its hazards. I use the liquid potassium hydroxide solution sold as B-L-C at the LHBS. It is already dissolved, saving one step, and it is pretty strong stuff but not as aggressive as sodium hydroxide. It will do pretty much anything NaOH will at a slightly reduced hazard. As others have said, add it to water not water to it to manage the heat of solution.I too strongly recommend good rubber gloves and safety glasses when you work with any of these strong bases.

[Recklessdeck]

ok.. so if i used this draino.. what kind of solution what i want to make? I assume draino and water?? what ratio would i be looking at for safety vs effectiveness???I figure I could let it soak for an hour or 2, then I'd hook up a vinyl hose to my ball valves that go directly to my floor drain, this way I'm not getting the caustic solution all over my basement floor, then i figured id fill it up a couple more times and drain to make sure it has a good rinse. this sound like a good plan?

the environmentalist gadfly in me says that dumping a high pH solution into your municipal water system would be highly irresponsible. In many areas, Sodium Hydroxide is clasified as an RCRA hazardous waste and it is illegal to dump in the sewer. I know that its very possible to use this chemical safely and responsibly, but I'm wondering why you want to. The big virtue of stainless steel is how easy it is to clean, you shouldn't need anything more than oxygen bleach and elbow grease.